Chastity Belt – Live Laugh Love (2024)

Chastity Belt – Live Laugh Love (2024)

What can I say? This American band from Walla Walla, Washington, are really very good… but I may have discovered them a little late. Let me explain: there are so many bands in this genre that I love that, in the end, this one doesn’t seem incredible. Which is totally unfair, because if it had been the first of its kind that I’d discovered, it would have been one of my favourite bands and maybe even a mainstay in my collection.

There are songs with chords that have been seen over and over again (like Blue, for example) by artists like St Vincent or Cat Power (to name but a few), but which are still devilishly effective. But too many tracks remind me of others. That’s not a bad thing in itself, and it always makes me a bit nostalgic, but I’d have liked a little touch of originality or something to make the difference.

Laugh reminds me of B-52’s, I-90 Bridge reminds me of the Cure with its Just Like Heaven bass line. Yes, in fact, the sounds are very Cure-like on this album. Julia Shapiro’s female vocals may make the difference I’m talking about, but if you think back to the Cranes, for example, you’d think there was already a female Cure back then. Even the Sugarcubes sounded similar at times, but with Björk’s extraordinary voice.

So, I’m not going to grumble and say that it was better before, because I could never tell you how happy I am that bands like this still exist. For anyone who loves or wants to discover Alternative Rock, Rock & Roll, Noise Pop, Indie Rock, Indie Pop or Pop Rock, this band is ideal. And I’m not just talking about this album (which is rather soaring and not too energetic), but about the band in general, which debuted in 2010.

Shapiro is also a guitarist and is accompanied by guitarist Lydia Lund, bassist Annie Truscott and Gretchen Grimm on drums. Together, they take a humorous approach to female stereotypes and customs in their lyrics, questioning gender norms and femininity as a construct. Yes, there’s no shortage of humour in Chastity Belt’s soaring, relaxing and powerful musical mix. Just look at their band name and the album cover!

This team looks like they’ve made five studio albums in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and this one in 2024. I can’t get my hands or ears on the first one, No Regerts, but I should, in principle, review the others.

Live Laugh Love is an album to please. It’s a pleasure for lots of people: for those who want to get away from basic Pop, R’n’B, Rap and Opera, for those who are looking for Rock, real instruments, real musicians who don’t use autotune or electro, for those who are nostalgic for the alternative Rock of the 90’s and want something to let off steam without falling into Shoegaze and without it being Metal!

Happy listening!

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